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Plaistow garners grant to help improve public safety communications

By ADAM SWIFTUnion Leader Correspondent

PLAISTOW — A grant approved by the state will help the town’s public safety departments improve their emergency communications systems.

The $133,000 grant, which includes a 50 percent match from the town, will benefit Plaistow and surrounding communities as well as Trinity ambulance services, which operates in town, according to interim Police Chief Kathleen Jones.

“The nature of the grant was the type of project the governor’s council was looking for, the improvement of regional communication between public safety partners within southern New Hampshire as well as bordering communities in Massachusetts,” said Jones.

Atkinson and Trinity ambulance will donate money to the town’s matching portion of the grant, Jones said.The grant money will be used to improve existing communications towers at the town’s public safety complex on Elm Street and the Plaistow West communications location on Hogg Hill.

There are also additional phases planned to improve emergency communications in other areas of town and the region, but those phases will not be funded through the current grant, according to Jones.

The improvements to the communication systems will enhance existing communication for public safety users, improve the public safety departments’ ability to respond quicker to calls for service, reduce portable radio dead zones, increase the clarity of transmissions, and provide greater overall radio coverage, Jones said.

The goal is to have the new equipment installed by the end of September, but Jones said the town is requesting an extension from the state in case the work cannot be completed by then.